


Something’s changed

by Epicmosan1



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Just not yet, there will be relationships, this gonna be weird
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-09 07:05:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16445126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Epicmosan1/pseuds/Epicmosan1
Summary: A idea that’s been rattling around in my brain, decided to post.——————————While Marie and Agent 4 are on the hunt for Octavio and Callie, Cuttlefish and Agent 3 traverse deep into the mountains, looking for any Octarians planning any attacks.  However, there are things going on behind the scenes that will “change the script,” to say the least.





	1. Callie (re)meets Octavio

Callie shuffled her boots across the floor, the chain around her ankle scraping and clanking. Fluorescent lights buzzed above her, it being the only sound in the room. Callie had woken up in the chair she was currently sitting in, and her leg was currently chained to the chair. Callie glanced at the door at the far side of the room, rapping her fingers along the cold metallic table she was resting on. Callie guessed It had been a couple hours, as she had no way to tell.

“Helloooooo?” Callie called out for about the thousandth time. “Can someone PLEASE tell me what the carp is going on here and where I am?”

This time, when she spoke, the far away door finally opened. Callie stood, ready to grab the chair and make a bolt for the exit when someone stepped through. Callie froze, the ink in her veins running cold. A Octoling stood in the doorway, her eyes hidden by thick, glowing shades. She held a octoshot in her hands, ink sloshing around in the clear barrel. Her tentacles were currently tied up in a ponytail, a hairstyle Callie hadn’t seen a Octoling don in a long time. They were also a dark purple hue, their undersides blindingly white. Long strands of seaweed stretched to the ceiling, but unlike other Octolings Callie has seen like this, the seaweed on this one had several notches and tears in it. Callie’s instincts finally kicked in, and she picked up the chair, attempting to get into a defensive position. However, the only thing she managed to do was yank he’d leg out from underneath her, causing her to fall flat on her back. 

The Octoling began to speak, but after a bit, Callie interrupted her, still on her back. “Hey, uh, I can’t understand a single word you’re saying.”

The Octoling blinked for a second, her face flushing slightly with embarrassment. She cleared her throat, then began again, this time in inkling. “Callie, please stand back up and return to your seat. Octavio will be in shortly.”

Callie quickly jumped to her feet. “What!?” She gasped, stepping back. “Octavio!? He’s free!? How did he-“

“Stand down, lieutenant. I’ll take it from here.” Said a sly, familiar voice from outside the room.

The Octoling stepped to the side, and in stepped a unwelcome familiar face. The DJ hadn’t changed much from the last time Callie had seen him. His helmet looked more like a misshapen hat, and he was now supporting a pair of shudder shades. The green X on his arm pulsed with a soft green glow. He wasn’t holding his usual stalks of wasabi, instead he was holding a Manila folder under one of his tentacles. Another Octoling followed him up, and stood on the other side of the door. This other Octoling looked more similar to the normal Octoling troops, with dark red tentacles and no seaweed. However, this one definitely looked like she’d seen a lot of action. A giant, deep scar could be seen on her front tentacle, and it seemed fairly recent. Callie turned her attention to Octavio.

“Yo, Callie! Glad to see you again. I hope you aren’t sore anywhere, I ordered my soldiers to treat you as gently as possible.” Octavio sat in the chair opposite of Callie, still holding the folder. “Couldn’t be there myself, what with my rockin’ army freeing ME.”

Callie glared at the octopus across from her. “Cut the chatter. Why am I here, Octavio? You wouldn’t squidnap me for no reason.” She hoped she was right about that last part.

Octavio’s eyes visibly dimmed behind his shades, and his voice became soft. “You aren’t one to stall, are ya? Fine, fine.” He tossed the folder across the table. “look through these, tell me what you see.”

Callie slowly opened the folder to find it filled with pictures. Some of them were of strange architecture, and others were of points around Inkopolis. Most of them, however, were of Octarians. Octarians in restaurants, Octarians overlooking canyons, Octarians playing in a arcade. Octolings were also scattered amongst the images, and a few were even focused on them. They seemed much more like the ones she’d seen on squidchat. Octolings posing with friends, Octolings practicing at a firing range, and a few appeared to be of some Octoling version of a turf war.

“...why are you showing me these?” Callie asked, looking up at Octavio, then back down at the photos. 

“I wanted to show you that we’re not so different. These were all taken in the past week. We have our own version of social media, and all of these were taken from it. I’m sure you’ve seen something similar on your own.

“If I could’ve brought you here more peacefully, I would’ve. However, there was, and probably still is, a bit of...hostilities, between us.” Octavio laughed solemnly. “But, lets not dwell on that! I have one other thing to show you today. Please, follow me. Cole, Rookie, follow behind, ten steps!”

“Wait, what?” Callie started, but Octavio was already on the move. Callie attempted to catch up, but because her leg was still chained, she wound up falling again and sending furniture flying. 

As she groaned on the ground, she felt a presence move to her leg. A cold hand grabbed her, then she felt the cold metal of the chain pop off. Callie pulled her leg close, rubbing it and trying to regain circulation. Callie felt the presence move in front of her, and when she looked up, she saw the Octoling with the scar standing in front of her, offering a hand. Callie hesitantly reached up and took it, quickly being pulled to her feet. After Callie dusted herself off, she turned towards the Octoling.

“Um.....thank you.” Callie stuttered. 

The Octoling smiled, dropping the blank face she had seconds ago. “Your welcome! I’m happy to...to...” she trailed off, scratching her head.

“Help?” Said the other Octoling, not moving from her spot.

“Yeah, help! Sorry, my inkling is poor. I still...need to...to learn! Some things!” 

Callie found this difference between the Octolings on and off the battlefield to be staggering. So far, this was nothing like the stories that gramps told her and Marie. Then again, it had been many years since the time the stories took place.

The Octoling stuck her hand out. “My name’s Sam, but...ever...everyone...calls me Rookie!” Callie took the Octoling’s hand, and she shook it excitedly. “We haven’t had a Inkling in the Domes since...forever!” 

Before the conversation could continue, the group heard a grunt from behind them. Octavio stood in the doorframe, and despite his aggressive posture, his eyes held no malice.

“Well, seems you’ve made a friend, Rookie! I’d keep an eye on her, Or she might splat ya when you least expect it!” Octavio let out a bellowing laugh, then turned and started walking away. “Now, where were we?”

Rookie looked mortified, and took a step away from the Inkling. Callie, wanting to flee the now awkward situation, quickly followed Octavio out of the room and down the hall. She glanced behind her, and saw the Octolings following them, giving little space between the two groups. Rookie still looked scared, but the other Octoling still held a blank expression. As the walked, Callie rattled off some questions.

“So, how long has it been since you squidnapped me? How did you do it? How long do you plan on keeping me here?”

“Only a day, I don’t know, as long as I need to. Any other questions?”

As Callie was about to speak, the second Octoling spoke. “To answer your second question, we simply cornered you than slipped the hypno-shades on. After that, you peacefully walked with us to the domes. I’m surprised you don’t remember, I thought you were the one with the good memory. Eh, guess it was your sister then.”

Callie froze. Her brain started going a thousand miles a minute, trying to remember what transpired before arriving here. She couldn’t remember, but something else was eating her. “W-Wait, oh my cod Marie! Is-is she—does she know i’m—“

Octavio interrupted her. “Your sister is fine. I’d say she probably hasn’t realized that anything’s up, but...well, you’ll see in a bit. Please, continue this way.”

Callie reluctantly started walking again, and eventually they stopped in front of a big, metallic door. A large lightning bolt was painted on it. Octavio opened the door, and gestured for Callie to step through. She did, and found herself in a dimly lit room. Large metallic boxes were against the walls, but the room seemed to open up near the end of the room. She also saw a light glow coming from the end, and heard sparks as well. With a sinking feeling in her gut, Callie walked to the end of the room and looked up. Sure enough, confirming her fears, she saw the great Zapfish. The fish stared down at her, sparks occasionally zapping the walls. It was attached to a giant machine, but it appeared to currently be off. Callie heard the others approaching, and spun around to face them.

“Again? Really!? You got splatted big time the last time you pulled this stunt, so you decide to do it again? You’re a moron.” Callie hissed.

Octavio was silent for a minute, before slowly taking off his shades. “Do you know why? Do you know WHY I did this? I highly doubt you do. Look around you, where do you think we are?” Octavio didn’t give her a chance to answer, walking over to a wall and hitting a button on it.

After he pushed it, the room lit up, and Callie could finally make out everything in the room. Callie quickly realized that the metallic boxes were actually oversized batteries, with a small light panel on the side of each one. These panels lit up, revealing that all of them were mainly glowing a light red, a few glowing yellow. The great Zapfish shuddered overhead, and as he did, the battery closest to Callie slowly shifted from dark red to a incredibly dark shade of yellow. Callie looked back to Octavio, and he continued.

“As you’ve probably figured out by now, these are batteries. These babies can hold a lot, but it’s a absolute bitch to charge. We have a few more rooms filled with these batteries, but almost all of them are empty now. The estimated time to charge all of them to even half charge would take three years. Of course, with our hourglass turned, we don’t have that kind of time. That’s where you come in.”

Callie stared blankly at the DJ. “I’m sorry, what? How am I supposed to help?”

“Before our first go-around, I was having my scientists work on something. Something that, if it worked, Would quickly put a end to the war and allow me to return the Zapfish. I was working on a new power source, and I had many leads. Power eggs, sardinium, golden eggs-“

“Wait, golden eggs? You knew about the salmonids way back then?”

“Yes, we knew about them long before inklings probably even saw a salmonid scale. Nevertheless, I tried, and I made progress. However, you, Marie, and that agent friend of yours caught up to me. My research was slowed, but not completely stopped. I still haven’t checked up on my scientists research, but I plan to do that soon.”

“Well, that’s...a lot to take in. But, that still doesn’t explain why you need me. I’m no scientist.”

Octavio was silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts. “I...I need you here to help me with something else. I need...a diplomat. I need you to understand the Octarians, Octolings, and the dome. I...I’m terrible with people. I know this. I don’t want this war to go on any longer.”

Callie’s mind was drawing a blank. “W-Wait.....Hold up.” Callie stamped her foot and pointed a accusing finger at the DJ. “You’ve told me you hate inklings. I’ve heard you say it a million times in our other encounters. So what? You just suddenly jump ship to our side? What’s your aim?”

In the next five seconds, Octavio’s face changed quickly. Callie saw surprise, anger, surprise again, anger again, then sadness. “I...I can’t lie. I don’t like inklings. But it has reached a point where I have to put my hatred aside. I need to find a way to either make peace with inklings and work out a deal, or find a alternative power source for the domes. I want you to help us, or the Octarian race as we know it will die. I need your help. Even if you don’t trust me, you at least agree that the complete extinction of a entire race would be a terrible thing, correct?”

Callie Looked up at Octavio, DJ and king of the Octarians. King of the squidbeak splatoon’s worst enemies. She...well, she didn’t HATE the Octarian, hate was a strong word. She didn’t hate the soldiers, their king forced them...right? Besides, if she was in the domes, then that meant that she could do some recon. Yeah, that’s why she was gonna stay. Callie made her decision, and stuck a hand out.

“Alright, fine. I’ll help you, however I can. What...what do I need to do, anyway?”

Octavio reached out and shook her hand, his eyes barely masking his joy. “I need you to do what you’re good at. Be a shining beacon of hope. Improve morale of troops, citizens, and anyone else. And above all else, I need you to sing. If you can do that, and my troops can stall anyone coming to get you and the Zapfish, we might be able to make a alternate power source. You have no idea how happy I am to hear you agree. I promise you, this is the start of something wonderful!”

Callie nodded, but deep down she was conflicted. Could she really do this? Cod, she hoped.


	2. Agent 4’s Journey:  Start!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four meets and teams up with Marie, getting recruited to the Squidbeak Splatoon! Oh, and Sheldon is there too.

Four stumbled out of Deca tower, her clothes still splattered in her own ink. She sat down in the lobby, setting her duelies down next to her and took a deep breath. She just had a bad losing streak, and was trying very hard not to cry. Her soul was thoroughly crushed, and the only thing she could think of doing right now was going home. Her appartment wasn’t far from the tower, and if she started now, should could probably be home by five. Four compressed her duelies (thank cod for inkling technology!), stood, and walked out of the lobby. Her short tentacles waved in the breeze, framing her face. Her bright white shirt had been a terrible decision to wear, but it had excellent stats, so Four didn’t really mind the mess. Ski goggles rested on her head, it’s orange glass shining in the sunlight. Her red sneakers squeaked as she walked, the leather old and worn.   
Four stepped into the square, glancing around at the inklings milling about. Four started pushing through the crowd, trying to get to the open street at the end. As she walked, however, something caught her eye. She glanced over, and saw a inkling shading herself with a big green umbrella, making her way back towards the tower. Four turned around, as something about the person seemed odd. She followed umbrella person from a distance, trying to see the person behind said umbrella. As the umbrella shifted, Four caught glimpses of the person underneath. Grey tentacles, a green kimono, sandals, overall a very strange look for Inkopolis square. The umbrella person was making a beeline for the tower, but at the last second turned and started headed for Grizzco industries. Umbrella person stopped in front a sewer grate, then turned around and looked right at Four. Both froze, locked eyes unblinking. Four was the first to speak.

“Oh...oh my cod! your—your Marie! Marie of the squid sisters! What—what are you doing here in the square?” Four’s face lit up like a squidsmas tree, excitement flowing from her voice.

“U-um...yes, that’s me. Your a fan?” She asked, slowly nudging the grate open with her foot. 

“Yeah, yeah! I’ve been trying to keep up with you and Callie’s latest endeavors, but you squids just vanished off the face of the earth! Made me kinda sad.”

Marie finally managed to get the grate open, and slowly stepped onto it. “Well, i’m happy to inform you that we’re doing fine. Now, I have to be going.”

Marie quickly transformed into her squid form and dove down into the pipe. Four was stunned for a second, but was snapped back to reality as the grate slowly started to close. Four felt something in the back of her mind twitch, and before she could even think it through, she also transformed and dove into the pipe. Some sort of force dragged her along, banging her into the walls of the pipe with each twist and turn. Four was suddenly blinded by brilliant white light, and when she opened her eyes, she was currently hurtling upwards into the air. She quickly began descending, and landed with a heavy thud. Four shakily stood, then glanced around the new area.

To her left, she saw several inflatable targets set up, along with a large, orange and black machine. To her right, Four saw a small shack set up, some sort of tapestry set up front. The style looked familiar to her, but Four couldn’t put a tentacle on it. Right in front of her, Four saw a pathway leading under a archway, and more strange things beyond. With Marie nowhere in sight, Four decided to explore. She took a step forward, and immediately lost her balance on the small slope around the pipe. She stumbled down the slope, eventually losing all righting and fell flat on the ground. She again rose, rubbing her knees. That was gonna sting for the rest of the day. Four walked deeper into this strange place, under the arch and into a wide open area. The area sloped down again, with lots of concrete and patches of grass strewn about, and Four quickly realized that there was nothing holding the platform up. Four found this out when she glanced over the edge, and saw nothing but clouds. She stumbled back, fell, and gripped the ground.

“Okay, oooookay. This platform is floating. In...in the sky. Very high up. Very, very high up. I’m okay. Just gotta...go back. Go back, and forget this happened.”

Four scooted back on her butt towards to pipe, eventually finding herself next to the shack. At this point she stood, resting a hand against the wall. Cod, she hated heights. Four glanced around the area again, and her eyes met a very surprised Marie. 

“Um...” Four stuttered. Marie was currently standing in front of the pipe, Maries surprised expression slowly turned to one that Marie had only given to a few persistent paparazzi: a cold, unfriendly glare. 

“Oh, it’s you again.” Marie said, slowly stepping closer to Four. “What are you, a stalker? What could’ve made you think following me into the pipe would be a good idea?” She reached Four, and pointed a accusatory finger at her. “Are you with the paparazzi? That’d be pretty ballsy, following me even with all those restraining orders.”

What? Oh, no no no! I’m not with the paparazzi, I swear. I just...I don’t know, something told me to follow you! Something seems off here. In all the years i’ve seen you on tv, i’ve never seen you so agitated.”

“......great.” Marie turned around, walking back to the pipe. “Listen, squiddo. I don’t need you being my therapist. I’m gonna need you to leave, this place is actually pretty dangerous, despite its looks.”

“Dangerous?” Four asked. “How is this place dangerous?”

Marie glanced back at her, and let out a long sigh. “Listen, I can’t tell you. Well, I can, but you wouldn’t be able to tell ANYONE. On top of that, you’ll be entering into a war zone. Are sure you want to know? I can’t guarantee your safety after I tell you.”

Four thought for a second. It couldn’t be that dangerous, right? After all, the most dangerous thing in inkopolis that Four knew of was Sean’s cooking on a bad day.

“Alright, tell me. I’m pretty sure whatever you’re going to tell me isn’t as bad as you think it is.” Four said, walking over to Marie. She flashed the famous inkling a smile, and the inkling eventually returned a very small smile.

“Fine, Fine. Just, don’t say I didn’t warn you. You might want to sit down, this could take a while.”

Four nodded, and flopped down onto the ground, crossing her legs and staring up at the inkling. Marie wondered if this was a good idea for a bit, before pushing the thought aside. This was so far the only inkling that had actually come here on their own volition, and Marie was running out of options.

“Alright, to start, I have a question. How much do you know about our close relatives, the Octarians?”

“Oh, we learned about this in school! They’re these octopus-like people who live underground. There’s also octolings, they look like us!”

“Alright, is that all?”

“Uh, no...there was some sort of war for land. Inklings and octolings fought. We won, though!”

“Good, good, you have basic knowledge. What if I were to tell you the Octarians were back, and wreaking havoc?”

I’d.....i’d find that hard to believe. People in inkopolis haven’t seen even a tentacle of a Octarian in years! I’m pretty sure most inklings forgot that they even exist.” 

“You’re probably right about that. But, I regret to inform you that yes, they are back. Even worse, they’ve stolen the great zapfish. I’m sure you’ve noticed the lack of giant, electric fish from Deca tower. This isn’t the first time either. I’m sure you remember the last time it vanished?”

“Yeah, I saw the news flash live. That was five years ago though, Octarians were behind that as well?”

“Yep. Back then, it was just me, Callie, and the captain. It was tough-“

“-wait, you and Callie? You fought the Octarians? H-how? When? It seems like that would be difficult, What with you guys announcing the stage rotations every few hours.”

Marie flashed Four a sly smile. “Oh, we had our ways. But, yes, me and Callie fought the Octarians. It was just us at first, but near the end of the war we got a new member. She was given the code name agent 3. In fact, I’m pretty sure she legally changed her name to agent 3. Sadly, she can’t help us right now. Her and our captain are out on a reconnaissance mission, and won’t be able to make it back in time before things go south.”

“Woah, thats so cool! But, wait...where is Callie? Is she in the shack?”

Marie stiffened, then looked away. “Well...that’s another problem. She vanished around the same time the great zapfish vanished. I...i’m Worried she might’ve gotten squidnapped. The Octarians have gotten bolder ever since she vanished, and I worry that if I don’t get help in taking them on, they’ll invade. That’s...that’s where you come in.”

Marie got down on in front of Four, staring into the inklings eyes. “I need your help. I need you to become our newest agent. You don’t have to do this, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious to me that we’re running out of time. I need you to be inkopolis’s new hero. So, I’m asking you this: will you help me save inkopolis?” 

Four stared back at Marie, contemplating. After a bit, Four smiled. “I’ve always wanted to go on a adventure. Count me in!”

Marie slowly smiled, trying desperately to not let the happiness and tears shine through. “Excellent! We can get you started as soon as your ready. First, though, we need to get you suited up.” Marie stood and motioned for Four to follow her as she walked towards the shack.

Four jumped up and quickly followed behind Marie. They slipped inside the shack, and Marie quickly ducked into a side room. The inside was almost comedicly bigger than the outside, and Four took a seat at a small dinner table. After a bit, Marie returned with a ton of gear bundled in her arms.

“Here,” She said, setting the gear on the table, “put this on. We still got some daylight, so I’d like to run you through at least one Octarian outpost I know of. It’ll be good training for whats to come. There’s a bathroom down the hallway over there, first door on the left. Change, then meet me outside.”

Four gathered up the gear and quickly moved to the bathroom. While there, she examined the gear. They didn’t have any stats, but they still looked pretty fresh to Four. The light-headphone-thing fit Four nicely, and the hoodie wasn’t too heavy. It was actually pretty fluffy on the inside! The shoes were big and bulky, but still comfortable. Four examined herself in the mirror, and smiled. She really did look like a hero! Four folded her old clothes, walked out of the bathroom, and set them down on the table. Four took a deep breath, and stepped out of the shack.  
Over by the gate, Marie stood chatting with a familiar face.

“Sheldon?” Four called out, quickly running over. “You work with Marie?”

Sheldon turned towards the familiar voice, and upon seeing the source, he smiled. “Well, what’d you know? You actually got someone to help ya. And if it isn’t my favorite squid, Four!” Four finally reached the two, and Sheldon and Four hugged. 

“Yes, I do in fact know Sheldon!” Marie said as Four and Sheldon pulled away. “He supplies us the weapons we use against the Octarians. Their modified to deal more damage, making Octarian takedown much easier.”

“Cool! What do I get my hands on first? Some sort of...rapid-fire charger? Or, or a slosher with, like, a giant splash range?” Four asked excitedly.

“Easy, easy squiddo!” Sheldon said, chuckling. “Sadly, nothing like that. Although, i’ll Have to work on that first idea, might actually be helpful. For now, i’ll start you off with the hero shot. Good fire rate, good range, good damage.” Sheldon produced the aforementioned hero shot, and handed it to Four.

Four gingerly took the weapon from Sheldon’s hands as Sheldon continued talking. “I’m adding the finishing touches to some other weapons, and as I finish them i’ll Send them your way. I’d like you to test them when you can. For now, though, I need to get back to the shop. I probably have a bunch a squids waiting outside my shop as we speak. Keep me updated when you can!” And with that, he phased through the grate.

“...how does he do that? Is he secretly a squid?” Four asked.

Marie shook her head. “No idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter down! This took longer than the other, mainly due to writers block. Hopefully, the next one shouldn’t take as long as this one.
> 
> Hopefully.


	3. What happened here?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agent 3 had seen a lot of things in her life. A giant mechanical fish gunning for her? Seen it. A crazy DJ launching giant spiraling bombs at her? Easy, she could handle it. Finding a abandoned octarian base with clear signs of a struggle? 
> 
> That was new.

Three shuffled along the worn mountain trail, half-heartedly listening to Cuttlefish’s rambling. They’d been in the mountains for months, and only recently had they seen any signs of Octarian activity. It was small, but it kept the two going. The sign was the trail they were following, winding deeper and deeper into the mountains. It had taken them several hours to find it, and Three hoped it wasn’t a false lead. If it was, then this whole had trip had been bothering but a sight-seeing tour.

“You know, captain, if there were any octarians out here, they’d hear us coming a mile away.” Three said, shifting her gun in her hands.

“Good! Then they’d know to run, or get splatted by the world famous Squidbeak splatoon!” Cuttlefish quipped, posing in a fallen log.

Three rolled her eyes and kept walking, not even looking back at the captain. Three couldn’t understand how Cuttlefish could still be so enthusiastic about fighting the octarians, considering he’s been doing it far longer than she has. Three once enjoyed it, but at this point it had become routine. Find a octarian outpost, splat the octarians, move on. Maybe she was becoming desensitized. Three hopped over another fallen log, and felt something splash against her leg. Her armor started beeping, and Three cursed, quickly jumping out of the puddle. She looked down, expecting to see the familiar purple ink of her mortal enemies, but instead saw a strange sight. A bright, green-teal colored ink was splattered against the log, and when Three looked around, she saw more of the mysterious ink splatted against the mountainside.

“Uh...Captain? This look familiar to you?” Three asked, gesturing to the ink.

Cuttlefish’s normal happy face turned to one of confusion and thought. “Hm..can’t say I have. Not sure where it could’ve come from, either. In all my years, i’ve never seen ink like this.” Cuttlefish got down next to the puddle and stuck a finger in it. He quickly retracted it, letting out a hiss. “Ye-ow! That stings like hell. But, it’s no stronger than normal octarian ink. If we find any octarian swinging this stuff around, you should be fine.”

Despite his calm look, Cuttlefish pulled on his cane, revealing his charger on the base. Three followed his example, shouldering her hero shot and slowly stepping forward. As they advanced down the trail, the duo saw more and more of the mystery ink, and soon they had to start shooting to clear a path through. Three kept glancing up at the mountainside, waiting for a octarian to jump out and start shooting. After about an hour, Three saw a sharp turn a ways up, and signaled for Cuttlefish to stop. Three slowly approached the corner, and glanced around it. The area ahead opened up, and set in the middle of the area was a base, definitely octarian made. However, it looked like it had been abandoned for years. Several walls had collapsed, and vegetation had started to re-claim the land. Along with the destruction, the area had the most condensed amount of the teal ink Three had seen so far. Three couldn’t see any signs of life, so she motioned for Cuttlefish to start following her again.  
The duo made their way towards the base, still not finding anything living. They eventually reached the entrance, and found the front door smashed in. They stepped around the rubble, and into the building. Immediately, Three felt a sense of dread blanket her. It was unnaturally quiet, and the lack of lighting didn’t help the creepiness. There wasn’t as much ink on the inside than out, but there was still a decent amount. As they walked deeper into the base, the area started to get more and more decrepit. Things were stacked up, looking like makeshift barricades. Several rooms had their ceilings caved in, and at one point they had to transform into squids to fit through a small gap in some rubble. Eventually, the duo found themselves in some sort of lab, with tons of broken beakers and test tubes. Several tables, who might’ve once been set neatly in s row, were now tossed around haphazardly. Three decided that she’d have enough.

“Alright, that’s it!” Three spun around and faced Cuttlefish. “Something seriously bad happened here. Help me look for something, ANYTHING, that might tell us what happened.” With that, Three got down on her knees and began shuffling through drawers in the tables.

Cuttlefish opened his mouth, but quickly realized that arguing with agent 3 would be pointless, and shut it. He got down as well, and began digging through a drawer. They searched for a while, and eventually Cuttlefish pulled out a old, dusty journal.

“Hey, agent 3? I think this might be what your looking for.” He handed it to the agent, who took it tenderly.

Three opened it, finding it to be in octarian. Luckily for her, Three had taken time out of her busy agent life to actually learn octarian, on the belief it would help with espionage missions. The only problem being that she could read it well, but speaking and hearing it was difficult. Thankfully, this would be easy. 

“This seems like some sort of diary, judging by its informal word choice.” Three said. “Can’t find a name though. Might’ve just worn off.” She quickly began reading, and after a bit, reading out loud so Cuttlefish could hear. 

“It’s our first day in this new base, and already the general and the combat engineer on staff are fighting. I don’t remember the engineers name, but apparently she’s famous. Don’t know why she’d come to a place like this, so far from the action, but oh well. I think she thinks that new agent will somehow make her way here, and wants to keep us ready, but who knows. Today, the argument was about the materials. The engineer wanted to use the materials to build more machines, but the general wanted to use them to reinforce the base. The engineer won the argument, but caused a lot of tension to come over the rest of us. It sucks that the first day ended like this, but hopefully tomorrow will be better.” Three squinted at the bottom of the page. “Huh. The date seems almost intentionally smudged. I can’t make it out.” Three flipped the page, checking the bottom of it. “I think they’re all smudged.”

“Uh, try skipping ahead. As much as i’d love to pry into this octarian or octoling’s life, we need to figure out what happened here.” Cuttlefish said, fighting and taking a seat on a chair.

“Right, right, sorry.” Three flipped through the pages, briefly skimming for anything interesting. “Hm...more fights...news from the domes...reports of-what?” She stopped flipping the pages and began reading out loud. “There were more sightings today. Goggles disappeared a few days ago, and today we got reports from our patrols unit of a octoling looking almost exactly like Goggles stalking the patrol. They said almost exactly because they described her color as ‘off.’ Her skin was sickly green, and her tentacles were blue! We’re currently trying to get in contact with the domes for help. The system seems to be on the fritz, though.”

Three flipped the page. “It’s broken. Our signal transmitter is broken. Some people claim sabotage. No ones been allowed into the communication room, except the engineers. If only that famous engineer hadn’t gone AWOL, we might’ve been able get this fixed sooner than later.”

Three felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, but kept flipping the pages. “No ones been allowed to leave the base. People who go out disappear, and we’re slowly running out of supplies. The top general of the army was supposed to personally deliver our next shipment and bring new troops to trade places, but that was three days ago. The guards report sightings of those green octolings more and more often. Our general doesn’t know what’s going on, and it’s not helping morale. 

I’m starting to fear the worst.”

Three solemnly skipped to the final page, every nerve in her body fighting her decision. “I’m the last one. I’ve barricaded myself in the lab, but I know it won’t hold. They took the general. They TOOK her. I don’t want to get taken. I’m scared. Please, whoever finds this, don’t stay here long. I don’t know if they’ll still be there when you are, but don’t take that chance. Please, just r-“ Three slowly looked up at Cuttlefish. “It...it stops there. The line goes off the page. I...I don’t want to think about why.”

Cuttlefish was silent for a bit, before standing. “We should probably head the advice. This place is giving me the heeby-jeebys. If we hurry, we can be back to camp before sundo-“

The duo fell silent as they heard something scuttling around in a different room. Three wordlessly handed the journal to Cuttlefish and readied her weapon, slowly and silently towards the sound. She neared the room, and pressed herself against the wall. After a bit of mental fortitude, jumped around the corner and fired toward the noise.

Three watched as the shot flew forward, splattering against the wall above a Now very scared Octoling. The octoling’s grey eyes widened with fear, and stuck their hands out to protect themselves. Three kept her gun pointed at the octoling as she approached, taking no chances. As Three walked, she took in the octoling’s appearance. It was female, and the tentacles on her head were much thinner than the other octolings Three had encountered. The outfit she wore was strange as well, as it was much more revealing then others as well. Her skin was lightly tanned, but was also covered in dust. Three finally reached the octoling, and now saw that tears were in her opponent’s(?) eyes. She could also hear her whispering something, but she couldn’t understand it. 

As Three was about to speak, the entire building shook violently. Frantic footsteps quickly came around the corner, and Cuttlefish quickly popped into view.   
“Uh, squiddo? We need to move, now!” Cuttlefish then noticed the cowering octoling, who now had their hands over their head. “H-hey! That’s an octoling! What’s it doing-“

He was cut off by a loud, distorted roaring sound coming from outside. The building started shaking again, and soon the cause of the shaking revealed itself. Giant blue and green tentacles came charging through the halls, quickly snatching up Cuttlefish. Another tentacle lashed out for Three, but she quickly dogged out of the way. However, this meant that the tentacle found the octoling, and quickly snatched her up. The octoling screamed as she and Cuttlefish were dragged from the room. Three chased after them, but the tentacles were too fast for her, and by the time Three made it out of the building, they were gone. Three quickly began searching the area, but found nothing. Soon, the sun started setting, and Three quickly set up a small campfire. It wouldn’t be comfortable, but Three had made her decision. She wouldn’t be leaving this base, not until she found Cuttlefish and that octoling.

As Three tried to sleep, the last words the octoling said echoed in her ears. Three might’ve struggled with certain words, but she could understand the octoling perfectly.

She was begging for help.

——————————————————

Three had spend the past few days clearing rubble where she could, looking through cabinets, reading the journal Cuttlefish had luckily dropped, and trying to get into a still intact computer she had found. Three found it odd that none of the lights worked, but the computer still ran fine. Her pocket light provided enough light for her to read the journal, but now that she wasn’t just skimming, Three found something odd. In the journal, Theee discovered several pieces of paper were missing, judging by the barely noticeable scraps still left in the spine. These missing pages took out huge chunks in the timeline, and Three wonders if the other pages just might be misplaced around the facility. The computer, however, was locked with a password, and Three had tried every word in the book to no avail. Three had a feeling that the password was somewhere on the second floor, but so far every way up there was blocked. In a different room, Three had found a crate full of strange looking boxes. After some examination, she discovered it be some sort of explosive, judging by the diagrams found on a old, faded manual. Three had been reluctant to use them after she found them, but after five days of no luck, she had ran out of options. Three picked up one of the explosives, and walked towards the least-likely-to-destroy-the-building staircase. She set it down, and went over the manual. It described on it to splat the area near the explosive, then activate the bomb. Three did as instructed, and once activated, she ran for cover. At the time the bomb detonated, Three heard a sound that didn’t sound like a bomb going off. It was more like a electric warping noise, only audible for a second. Three glanced around the corner, seeing that every inch of the rubble that had been covered in ink was now gone, almost as if it had been vaporized. Luckily, the building hadn’t collapsed, so Three made her way to the second floor.  
Upstairs, something that Three had been theorizing was proven true. On the second floor were the rooms for the troops, most of them splattered with the cyan ink. The beds were rotting away, and most of the sheets looked like they had been thoroughly attacked by glowflies. The lockers in the rooms were rusted, but Three was able to open most of them with a little effort. Most of the content of the lockers were also rotten, but Three was able to find a few more pieces of paper. Some of these pages seemed to match up with the journal, but others seemed like just random scraps. One note was a reminder to check on the laundry, another was a torn sheet of paper that was covered in ink, and another was a magazine titled “slimy tentacles” with a scantily clad octoling on the front. Three didn’t read that, and pushed it to the back of her mind. She didn’t need to think about what that could’ve been.  
After a bit, Three came to a busted door, torn away from its hinges. A way ahead, Three saw the room it could’ve potentially been connected to. Inside the room, Three quickly figured out that it was the general’s room. This room looked ransacked, and Three had to step carefully around the fallen bookshelves and bits of ceiling. As Three explored, she soon discovered a locked safe under the rather large bed. It had signs of attempted opening, but it was clear that it wasn’t successful. Three sighed. 

“Well, this sucks.” Three said out-loud. “One more coddamn mystery on my hands. Where are you, Cuttlefish?”

**Author's Note:**

> Fair warning, in case it wasn’t obvious, I have no idea what i’m Doing. I had an idea, some random scenes set up, but this is the first time I’ve actually tried to type a full story. Took like, a week to type because I procrastinate too much. Don’t expect consistent updates
> 
> I’d enjoy some tips for how to improve, and tips on how to use this site.


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